Nonconformance Visualization System

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for analyzing nonconformances. A volume in an aircraft is identified. The nonconformances within the volume of the aircraft are identified. Graphical indicators are displayed indicating the nonconformances within the volume in a graphical user interface on a display device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to the following patent applications:entitled “Object Visualization System,” Ser. No. 13/780,109, attorneydocket no. 12-1724-US-NP, filed Feb. 28, 2013, “Condition of AssemblyVisualization System,” Ser. No. 13/834,893, attorney docket no.12-1725-US-NP, filed Mar. 15, 2013, “Shop Order Status VisualizationSystem,” Ser. No. 13/785,616, attorney docket no. 12-1733-US-NP, filedMar. 5, 2013, “Nonconformance Visualization System,” Ser. No.13/798,964, attorney docket 12-1726-US-NP, filed Mar. 13, 2013,“Condition of Assembly Visualization System Based on Build Cycles,” Ser.No. 13/835,262, attorney docket no. 12-2000-US-NP, filed Mar. 15, 2013,“Shop Order Status Visualization System,” Ser. No. 13/858,364, attorneydocket no. 12-2001-US-NP, filed Apr. 8, 2013, “Locator System forThree-Dimensional Visualization,” Ser. No. 13/406,732, attorney docketno. 13-0053-US-NP, filed Apr. 2, 2013, and “Aircraft Comparison System,”Ser. No. ______ attorney docket no. 13-0060-US-NP, filed ______, 2013,assigned to the same assignee, and incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

1. Field

The present disclosure relates generally to manufacturing and, inparticular, to manufacturing vehicles. Still more particularly, thepresent disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for identifying anonconformance in the assembling of vehicles in a manufacturingenvironment.

2. Background

The assembly of an aircraft is an extremely complex process. Hundreds ofthousands of parts may be assembled for an aircraft.

The assembly of an aircraft may involve manufacturing different parts ofthe aircraft in geographically diverse locations. These different partsmay then be finally assembled in a single location. For example,different portions of a fuselage of the composite aircraft may beassembled in different locations and flown to a central location wherethe final assembly line is located. Additionally, other parts such asengines, auxiliary power units, seats, computer systems, linereplaceable units, or other components in aircraft may be shipped tothis final location for assembly to form the assembled aircraft.

The assembly of the different parts involves assigning tasks todifferent operators. The assignment of these tasks may take the form ofshop order instances. Each shop order instance may include instructionsand an identification of parts for a particular assembly in theaircraft.

Currently, operators on the shop floor where the assembly of theaircraft occurs may need to identify locations for the assembly of partsfor shop order instances. These locations are ones relative to theaircraft being assembled. The operator assigned a task to assemble apart for the aircraft may look at paper copies of the parts of aircraftto determine where to perform tasks to install or assemble parts for theaircraft. These paper copies may provide some guidance to an operator,but often times they may be difficult to understand and may not includesufficient information.

In some cases, the operator may view a computer-aided design model of anaircraft using a computer-aided design software system. These types ofsystems, however, require training and experience to maneuver throughthe model of the aircraft.

For example, an operator of the computer-aided design software systemoften uses aircraft coordinates to identify locations in the aircraft.Aircraft coordinates have an origin relative to some location in theaircraft. Further, when traversing through the model, locations areidentified using aircraft coordinates. These aircraft coordinates,however, are not helpful to an operator that is assigned a task in ashop order instance. The aircraft coordinates may need to be translatedinto action locations for the operator.

For example, an operator may have a task to perform inspections on partsthat have been assembled or installed. The inspection may includefinding the parts on the aircraft, determining whether a nonconformanceis present in the installation or assembly of the parts, and recordingwhether a nonconformance is present. For example, the nonconformance maybe an incorrect hole location, an incorrect hole size, a nonfunctioningpart, an incorrect part, or some other nonconformance.

Locating the parts for inspection may be more challenging andtime-consuming than desired with current techniques for identifyinglocations of parts in an aircraft. As a result, operators may take moretime than needed, may need additional training, or both, to viewlocations in the aircraft where tasks in a shop order instance are to beperformed. This additional time or training may increase the time orexpense needed to assemble an aircraft.

The results of these inspections may include an identification ofnonconformances. Nonconformance may be any part that does not meet thespecification for the aircraft. For example, a nonconformance may bepresent when an incorrect part has been installed. One example of anincorrect part may be a handle having an incorrect color. In anotherillustrative example, a nonconformance may be an incorrect type ofhandle. In another example, a nonconformance may be an absence of cablesspecified for the aircraft in a particular location. In another example,a nonconformance may be a hole having an incorrect size or in anincorrect location. Yet another nonconformance may be incorrect spacingof seats.

Currently, nonconformances are stored in various forms for processing.For example, information about nonconformances may be stored indatabases, spreadsheets, documents, and other types of data structuresas nonconformance data. This type of data is typically textual data.

Identifying locations for these nonconformances and analyzingnonconformances are currently more difficult than desired. With theamount of nonconformance data and the storage of nonconformance data indatabases and spreadsheets, reviewing this nonconformance data may beextremely difficult or impossible in some cases. For example, with theamounts of nonconformance data identifying locations and the part numberof parts for nonconformances may be more time-consuming and difficultthan desired.

Therefore, it would be desirable to have a method and apparatus thattake into account at least some of the issues discussed above, as wellas other possible issues.

SUMMARY

In one illustrative embodiment, a method for processing nonconformancesis present. A volume in an aircraft is identified. The nonconformanceswithin the volume of the aircraft are identified. Graphical indicatorsare displayed indicating the nonconformances within the volume in agraphical user interface on a display device.

In another illustrative embodiment, a method for processing conformancesis present. A volume in an object is identified. The nonconformanceswithin the volume of the object are identified. The graphical indicatorsindicating the nonconformances within the volume are displayed in agraphical user interface on a display device.

In yet another illustrative embodiment, an apparatus comprises an objectmanager configured to identify a volume in an aircraft. The objectmanager is further configured to identify nonconformances within thevolume of the aircraft. The object manager is still further configuredto display graphical indicators indicating the nonconformances withinthe volume in a graphical user interface on a display device.

The features and functions can be achieved independently in variousembodiments of the present disclosure or may be combined in yet otherembodiments in which further details can be seen with reference to thefollowing description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The novel features believed characteristic of the illustrativeembodiments are set forth in the appended claims. The illustrativeembodiments, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, furtherobjectives and features thereof, will best be understood by reference tothe following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment of thepresent disclosure when read in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a block diagram of a manufacturingenvironment in accordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 2 is an illustration of a block diagram of an object manager inaccordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an illustration of a block diagram of a sectional view inaccordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 4 is an illustration of a block diagram of a volume identifier inaccordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 5 is an illustration of a block diagram of a shop order instance inaccordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 6 is an illustration of a block diagram of a nonconformance recordin accordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 7 is an illustration of a graphical user interface for viewingstatuses of shop order instances in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment;

FIG. 8 is an illustration of aircraft positions in a building inaccordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 9 is an illustration of a graphical user interface of aircraftsections in accordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 10 is another illustration of a graphical user interface ofaircraft sections in accordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 11 is an illustration of a volume displayed in response toselection of a section in accordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 12 is an illustration of an interior wall of a portion of afuselage for an aircraft in accordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 13 is an illustration of a selection of parts for identifying anonconformance in accordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 14 is an illustration of a support structure with nonconformancesin accordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 15 is an illustration of an enlarged view of an area in accordancewith an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 16 is an illustration of a graphical user interface with a displayof nonconformances in an aircraft in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment;

FIG. 17 is another illustration of a graphical user interface with adisplay of nonconformances in an aircraft in accordance with anillustrative embodiment;

FIG. 18 is another illustration of a graphical user interface with adisplay of nonconformances in an aircraft in accordance with anillustrative embodiment;

FIG. 19 is yet another illustration of a graphical user interface with adisplay of nonconformances in an aircraft in accordance with anillustrative embodiment;

FIG. 20 is an illustration of a graphical user interface with a displayof a nonconformance in an aircraft in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment;

FIG. 21 is another illustration of a graphical user interface with adisplay of a nonconformance in an aircraft in accordance with anillustrative embodiment;

FIG. 22 is yet another illustration of a graphical user interface with adisplay of a nonconformance in an aircraft in accordance with anillustrative embodiment;

FIG. 23 is an illustration of a graphical user interface for managingthe importing of nonconformance data in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment;

FIG. 24 is another illustration of a graphical user interface formanaging the importing of nonconformance data in accordance with anillustrative embodiment;

FIG. 25 is yet another illustration of a graphical user interface formanaging the importing of nonconformance data in accordance with anillustrative embodiment;

FIG. 26 an illustration of a flowchart of a process to visually query anobject in accordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 27 is an illustration of a flowchart of a process for analyzingnonconformances in accordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 28 an illustration of a flowchart of a process for visuallyquerying nonconformances in an aircraft in accordance with anillustrative embodiment;

FIG. 29 is an illustration of a flowchart of a process for recording anonconformance in accordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 30 is an illustration of a flowchart of a process for recording anonconformance in accordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 31 is an illustration of a flowchart of a process for identifyinggroupings of nonconformances in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment;

FIG. 32 is an illustration of a flowchart of a process for managing theimporting of nonconformance data in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment;

FIG. 33 an illustration of a block diagram of a data processing systemin accordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 34 an illustration of a block diagram of an aircraft manufacturingand service method in accordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 35 an illustration of a block diagram of an aircraft in which anillustrative embodiment may be implemented;

FIG. 36 is an illustration of a block diagram of a management system inaccordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 37 is an illustration of a flowchart of a process for managing themanufacturing of an aircraft in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment; and

FIG. 38 is a more detailed illustration of a flowchart of a process forprocessing nonconformances in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The illustrative embodiments recognize and take into account one or moredifferent considerations. For example, the illustrative embodimentsrecognize and take into account that in performing tasks in shop orderinstances, operators may look at a visualization of the aircraft. Forexample, the illustrative items recognize and take into account that theoperators may look at a model of an aircraft with the parts. Theillustrative embodiments recognize and take into account that thisprocess, however, is a tedious process.

For example, the illustrative embodiments recognize and take intoaccount that this process may be particularly cumbersome when performinginspections. Some shop order instances may be for an inspection of apart assembled as part of a task performed in another shop orderinstance. In this case, the inspection may include identifyingnonconformances in the assembly of one or more parts.

In this case, an operator finds a group of parts that have beenassembled. An inspection is made as to whether a nonconformance ispresent in the group of parts. The operator may make notes and enter thenonconformance after inspecting the group of parts at a workstationelsewhere in the building where the aircraft is being assembled or inanother location.

This process involves the operator identifying the location in theaircraft and the group of parts where the nonconformance is located. Theoperators on the shop floor performing inspections are often notexperienced or trained in using computer-aided design software used toview the models.

Viewing a model of an aircraft may take more time and effort thandesired. For example, operators may require additional training. In somecases, operators may rely on other operators with training andexperience. Thus, looking at parts in a model may take more time andeffort than desired.

The illustrative embodiments provide a method and apparatus for visuallyquerying an aircraft. A model is identified for the aircraft. Sectionsof the aircraft are displayed in a graphical user interface on a displaydevice. The sections correspond to sections as manufactured for assemblyof the aircraft. The sections are selectable. The visual query may beused to perform different operations with respect to nonconformancesthat may be identified in aircraft.

With the visual query in the display of nonconformances in a graphicaluser interface, the visualization and analysis of nonconformances may bemade more quickly and easily as compared to reviewing nonconformancedata in a database or spreadsheet. For example, in one illustrativeembodiment, nonconformances may be processed by identifying a volume inan aircraft. Nonconformances may be identified in the volume of theaircraft. Graphical indicators may be displayed indicatingnonconformances within the volume in a graphical user interface on adisplay device.

With reference now to the figures, and in particular, with reference toFIG. 1, an illustration of a block diagram of a manufacturingenvironment is depicted in accordance with an illustrative embodiment.Manufacturing environment 100 is an example of an environment in whichobject 102 may be assembled.

In this illustrative example, object 102 takes the form of aircraft 104.Object 102 is completed by assembling parts 106. A part is a group ofthe components. As used herein, a “group of,” when used with referenceitems, means one or more items. For example, a group of components isone or more components.

A part may be a single component or assembly of components in thesedepicted examples. For example, the part may be a seat, a row of seats,an in-flight entertainment system, a duct, a system of ducts, a globalpositioning system receiver, an engine, an engine housing, an inlet, orother suitable types of parts.

In this illustrative example, assembling parts 106 may take place inassembly location 107 in building 108 of buildings 110 at manufacturingfacility 112. The assembly of parts 106 in building 108 may occur inpositions 114 in assembly location 107 for object 102. Each position inpositions 114 is a location in building 108 in which a group of tasks118 is performed to assemble object 102.

In these illustrative examples, a task is a piece of work. A task may becomprised of one or more operations that are performed by a group ofoperators 122 assigned to work on the assembly of object 102.

In the illustrative examples, object manager 124 may be used to managethe assembly of object 102. When object 102 is aircraft 104, objectmanager 124 may be part of an aircraft management system. Object manager124 may be implemented in software, hardware, firmware or a combinationthereof. When software is used, the operations performed by objectmanager 124 may be implemented in program code configured to run on aprocessor unit. When firmware is used, the operations performed byobject manager 124 may be implemented in program code and data andstored in persistent memory to run on a processor unit. When hardware isemployed, the hardware may include circuits that operate to perform theoperations in object manager 124.

In the illustrative examples, the hardware may take the form of acircuit system, an integrated circuit, an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device, or some othersuitable type of hardware configured to perform a number of operations.With a programmable logic device, the device is configured to performthe number of operations. The device may be reconfigured at a later timeor may be permanently configured to perform the number of operations.Examples of programmable logic devices include, for example, aprogrammable logic array, a programmable array logic, a fieldprogrammable logic array, a field programmable gate array, or othersuitable hardware devices. Additionally, the processes may beimplemented in organic components integrated with inorganic componentsand/or may be comprised entirely of organic components excluding a humanbeing. For example, the processes may be implemented as circuits inorganic semiconductors.

As depicted, object manager 124 may be implemented in computer system126. Computer system 126 is one or more computers. When more than onecomputer is present, the computers in computer system 126 maycommunicate with each other using a communications medium such as anetwork. Computer system 126 may be located all in the same location orin different geographic locations. For example, computer system 126 maybe distributed through buildings 110 or located in building 108.Portions of computer system 126 may even be located in anothergeographic location separate from manufacturing facility 112.

In managing the assembly of object 102, object manager 124 may managetasks 118 and information 128 about object 102. In this illustrativeexample, the management of tasks 118 may include at least one ofassigning tasks 118 to operators 122, monitoring the status of tasks118, organizing tasks 118, providing information about tasks 118, orother suitable operations. Information 128 may include, for example, themodels of objects, part inventories, or other suitable informationrelating to object 102.

As used herein, the phrase “at least one of,” when used with a list ofitems, means different combinations of one or more of the listed itemsmay be used and only one of each item in the list may be needed. Forexample, “at least one of item A, item B, and item C” may include,without limitation, item A or item A and item B. This example also mayinclude item A, item B, and item C or item B and item C. The item may bea particular object, thing, or a category. In other words, at least oneof means any combination of items and number of items may be used fromthe list but not all of the items in the list are required.

In these illustrative examples, object manager 124 may manage tasks 118using assignments 130 in the form of shop order instances 132. Forexample, object manager 124 may assign tasks through the use of shoporder instances 132 to operators 122 for performance and assembling ofobject 102. Additionally, the status of shop order instances 132 may beused to identify the state of assembly of object 102 by operators 122.

Additionally, tasks 118 may have dependencies 133. In other words, tasks118 may be performed in a particular order. Dependencies 133 may dictatewhen tasks within tasks 118 should be performed relative to other tasksin tasks 118. Dependencies 133 may also be for parts 106 in addition toor in place of tasks 118. In this form, dependencies 133 may result independencies 133 for tasks 118.

As a result, dependencies 133 may affect the manner in which assignments130 are made as shop order instances 132. In particular, dependencies133 may be used to determine when shop order instances 132 should beperformed.

In these illustrative examples, object manager 124 may provide differentfunctions and capabilities for assembling object 102. For example,object manager 124 may include at least one of object visualizationsystem 134, shop order status visualization system 135, or other typesof systems. The systems may be implemented using hardware, software, orsome combination thereof.

In one illustrative example, object visualization system 134 may providea visualization of object 102 to operators 122. In particular, operators122 may perform queries using object visualization system 134 to view anumber of sections 136 in object 102. In particular, sections 136 may besections that correspond to sections at manufacturing facility 112 forassembly of object 102, such as aircraft 104.

In these illustrative examples, the manufacturing may include at leastone of fabricating components for parts, assembling components to formparts, assembling parts for object 102, or some other suitablemanufacturing operation performed to assemble object 102.

For example, object manager 124 may provide visual information about allof object 102 or one or more specific sections of object 102. This typeof visualization may be especially useful when object 102 takes the formof aircraft 104. Information 128 may be used when operators 122 performtasks 118 with respect to parts 106 to assemble aircraft 104.

In another illustrative example, shop order status visualization system135 may provide a visualization of status 137 of shop order instances132. This information may be provided visually to operators 122. Inparticular, object manager 124 may function as shop order statusvisualization system 135 as well as provide other suitable functions inmanaging the assembly of object 102.

As another illustrative example, object manager 124 may also includenonconformance visualization system 138. Nonconformance visualizationsystem 138 may be used to manage nonconformances 140 that may beidentified for parts 106 assembled to form aircraft 104. In theillustrative examples, the management of nonconformances 140 may includeat least one of recording nonconformances 140, analyzing nonconformances140, reporting nonconformances 140, or other suitable operations.

In these illustrative examples, a nonconformance in nonconformances 140is present when a part in parts 106 does not meet some group ofcriteria. For example, the criteria may be selected from at least one ofa tolerance of the part, a tolerance of components forming the part, atolerance of fit of the part with other parts, a size of a hole, whetheran inconsistency is present in a part, whether the part functions asdesired when assembled in aircraft 104, or other suitable criteria withrespect to whether a part or a group of parts in parts 106 meet thegroup of criteria.

Turning now to FIG. 2, an illustration of a block diagram of an objectmanager is depicted in accordance with an illustrative embodiment.Examples of components that may be implemented in object manager 124 areshown in this figure.

As depicted, object manager 124 includes a number of differentcomponents. For example, object manager 124 includes assignment manager202, object visualizer 204, inventory identifier 206, status identifier207, and graphical user interface 208. These different components alongwith object manager 124 may be implemented using hardware, software, orsome combination thereof.

Graphical user interface 208 is configured to provide an interface foroperators 122 to interact with object manager 124. In these illustrativeexamples, graphical user interface 208 may be displayed on displaysystem 209 in interface system 210. Display system 209 is hardware andmay include one or more display devices selected from at least one of aliquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting display (LED), an organiclight emitting display (OLED), or other suitable types of displaydevices.

Input may be received from operators 122 through input system 211 ininterface system 210. Input system 211 is a hardware system. Inputsystem 211 may include one or more devices. These devices may include atleast one of a keyboard, a mouse, a joystick, a touchscreen panel, orother suitable types of devices.

In this illustrative example, assignment manager 202 is configured tomanage assignments 130 in the form of shop order instances 132 in shoporder database 212. For example, assignment manager 202 may be used toassign tasks 118 to operators 122 using shop order instances 132.Additionally, assignment manager 202 also may be configured to receiveinformation about the performance of tasks 118 assigned through shoporder instances 132. This information may be used by assignment manager202 to generate and update status 213 for shop order instances 132.

Object visualizer 204 is configured to generate graphicalrepresentations 214 for parts 106. Graphical representations 214 may bedisplayed on graphical user interface 208 in display system 209. Asdepicted, object visualizer 204 is configured to access model database215. Object visualizer 204 may identify model 216 from models 217 inmodel database 215 for object 102 and, in particular, for aircraft 104.Model 216 is used to generate graphical representations 214 in theillustrative example.

In these illustrative examples, graphical representations 214 may begenerated for sections 136 of object 102, which may take the form ofaircraft 104. In this illustrative example, model 216 may be identifiedfor object 102 from models 217 in model database 215. Models 217 maytake various forms. For example, without limitation, models 217 mayinclude computer-aided design (CAD) files.

Each model in models 217 may be for a particular object. The objects maybe of the same type but for different shop order instances. For example,if models 217 are for a particular type of aircraft, each model may befor a particular aircraft that is being assembled for a customer. Thedifferent models may be for the same aircraft model but may havevariations for different options selected by a customer. In otherillustrative examples, models 217 may include models for different typesof aircraft 104.

The generation of graphical representations 214 may be based on all ofmodel 216 or a group of volumes 218 in model 216. These items may havedifferent shapes. For example, volume 219 in volumes 218 may be a cube,a cuboid, a cylinder, a sphere, or some other suitable shape.

In these illustrative examples, volume 219 is for at least a portion ofa part in parts 106 of object 102. Volume 219 may be large enough toencompass the part. Volume 219 may also be larger than the part. Inthese illustrative examples, volume 219 may comprise an amount of spacearound the part for viewing the part in a graphical user interface. Forexample, the amount of space around the part may be for viewing the partin the graphical user interface from one or more angles. In thisexample, the one or more angles may be one or more angles from the pointof view of an operator. In this example, the point of view of theoperator may be of an operator performing a task associated with thepart.

As depicted, volumes 218 may be identified in model 216 using volumedatabase 220. Volume database 220 is a collection of information thatmay be used to identify which volumes in volumes 218 may be displayed asgraphical representations 214. In particular, the collection ofinformation may include volume identifiers 221. For example, volumeidentifier 222 in volume identifiers 221 may define volume 219 involumes 218.

In these illustrative examples, an identification of volume 219 may bemade using sectional view 223 in sectional views 224 in sectional viewdatabase 225. Sectional views 224 may include sectional views of thedifferent objects. For example, sectional view 223 may correspond tomodel 216. An operator may select volumes 218 using sectional view 223displayed on graphical user interface 208 in this particular example.

As depicted, sectional views 224 in sectional view database 225 mayprovide views of sections 136 for object 102. In the illustrativeexamples, sections 136 correspond to sections manufactured for assemblyof object 102. In particular, sections 136 may correspond to sectionsmanufactured for assembly of aircraft 104.

Further, sectional views 224 may include different levels of detail. Forexample, sectional views 224 may include a hierarchy of levels in whichthe lower levels have more detail about aircraft 104 then higher levelsin the hierarchy. In some illustrative examples, a selection of asectional view in sectional views 224 may result in another sectionalview being displayed. In other illustrative examples, a selection madein a sectional view may result in graphical representations 214 beinggenerated from model 216 and displayed on graphical user interface 208.In this manner, an operator may visually query aircraft 104 through thedifferent sectional views in sectional views 224.

As a result, operator interaction generating user input with sectionalview 223 displayed in graphical user interface 208 may be used toidentify volumes 218 in model 216. The user input may be used toidentify volume identifier 222 from volume identifiers 221. Volumeidentifier 222 may point to volume 219 in model 216.

In these illustrative examples, object visualizer 204 may generatequeries using volume identifiers 221 to obtain information from model216 in model database 215. In particular, information may be data aboutvolume 219 in model 216 for aircraft 104.

As depicted, object visualizer 204 also may be configured to generategraphical representations 214 for states 226 of object 102. In theseillustrative examples, states 226 may be used for object 102 in the formof aircraft 104. In other words, aircraft 104 may have different partsin parts 106 that are installed at different states within states 226.In the illustrative examples, states 226 may take the form of conditionof assembly 227 for object 102.

For example, states 226 may be based on positions 114 of aircraft 104within assembly location 107 in building 108. In these illustrativeexamples, states 226 be selected from at least one of planned states 228or actual states 229.

Aircraft 104 may have different planned states in planned states 228 indifferent positions in positions 114. In this illustrative example, aplanned state in planned states 228 includes the parts that are expectedto be installed at a particular position in positions 114. In otherwords, these parts may or may not have been installed at that position.

In these illustrative examples, the planned state may be based on thepast position, current position, or the future position of aircraft 104in positions 114. In other words, graphical representations 214 may begenerated for any position that is present for planned states 228 foraircraft 104.

As depicted, an actual state in actual states 229 includes parts 106that have actually been installed in aircraft 104. In other words, aparticular state may have a selected number of parts that are installedat that state. The actual state in actual states 229 may be based on atleast one of a past position, or the current position of aircraft 104.In other words, graphical representations 214 may be generated for parts106 actually installed at a prior point in time. This prior point intime may be selected by an operator. In this manner, an operator mayview tasks 118 performed to install parts 106 at some prior point intime.

Additionally, the actual state may be the current state of aircraft 104.This current state may be referred to as a current state of assembly foraircraft 104. In other words, graphical representations 214 may begenerated for parts 106 that have been installed at the current point intime. In this manner, graphical representations 214 may be used tovisualize parts 106 that are currently present in aircraft 104.

In these illustrative examples, the identification of parts that havealready been installed or parts installed in prior points in time may beidentified using shop order instances 132. In particular, shop orderinstances 132 may indicate whether or what parts in parts 106 have beeninstalled.

Model database 215 is a database of models for objects. In theseillustrative examples, these models may be, for example, computer-aideddesign models (CAD). Of course, any type of model that may provideinformation about the three-dimensional geometries of objects may beused. Additionally, these models may also include other informationabout materials, instruction assemblies, or other suitable types ofinformation.

As depicted, inventory identifier 206 is configured to access inventorydatabase 230. Inventory database 230 contains information about parts.Inventory database 230 may include information about whether parts arein stock, when parts will be delivered, the number of parts available,or other suitable types of information.

As depicted, status identifier 207 is configured to provide avisualization of the status for one or more of shop order instances 132.In this illustrative example, status identifier 207 is configured toprovide an operator a graphical front end through graphical userinterface 208 to identify the status of a shop order instance in aspecific location of object 102, such as aircraft 104. This informationmay be identified without the operator knowing the coordinates of theparticular location.

In these illustrative examples, object visualizer 204 is configured toidentify a model of object 102, such as aircraft 104. For example,object visualizer 204 may identify the model in model database 215 forobject 102.

Status identifier 207 is also configured to identify shop orderinstances 132 for object 102. The identification may be made throughinteraction with assignment manager 202.

In this illustrative example, status identifier 207 is also configuredto identify status 213 of shop order instances 132. This identificationalso may be made through assignment manager 202.

Object visualizer 204 is configured to display graphical representations214 of parts 106 in FIG. 1 for a group of shop order instances 132 ingraphical user interface 208 on a display device in display system 209.The generation of graphical representations 214 may be based on theidentification of a group of shop order instances 132. In other words,object visualizer 204 is configured to receive an identification ofparts in the group of shop order instances 132. The identification ofthese parts may be used to generate graphical representations 214.

Further, status identifier 207 is also configured to display a set ofgraphical indicators 231 in association with graphical representations214 of parts 106 displayed on graphical user interface 208 by objectvisualizer 204. As used herein, a “set of,” when used with referenceitems, means one or more items. For example, a set of graphicalindicators 231 is one or more of graphical indicators 231.

In these illustrative examples, a graphical indicator in graphicalindicators 231 is considered to be displayed in association with agraphical representation in graphical representations 214 when theattention of an operator viewing graphical indicators 231 is drawn tothe parts. Thus, the graphic indicator may be displayed as part of thegraphical representation, on the graphical representation, in someproximity of the graphical representation, or in some other suitablemanner that draws attention to the graphical representation.

The set of graphical indicators 231 displayed in association withgraphical representations 214 of parts 106 may take different forms. Forexample, the set of graphical indicators 231 may be selected from atleast one of a color, cross hatching, an icon, highlighting, animation,font, or other suitable types of graphical indicators.

Further, the group of shop order instances 132 may be identified in anumber of different ways. For example, the group of shop order instances132 may be identified by a user input to graphical user interface 208from an operator. For example, the user input received may be aselection of the group of shop order instances 132.

In another illustrative example, the identification of the group of shoporder instances 132 may be identified from a user input selecting agroup of parts 106 in object 102 in FIG. 1. The selection of the groupof parts 106 may be one of a selection of the group of parts 106 from alist of parts 106 and a selection of the group of parts 106 from adisplay of graphical representations 214 of parts 106 in graphical userinterface 208.

Additionally, status identifier 207 may display information about a shoporder instance for a part selected from graphical representations 214 ofparts 106 displayed in graphical user interface 208.

With this information in graphical user interface 208, real-worldoperations may be performed. For example, the assembly of object 102 inFIG. 1 may be managed based on graphical representations 214 of parts106 for shop order instances 132 and the set of graphical indicators 231displayed on graphical user interface 208. For example, identificationsof operations that should be performed may be made using thisvisualization. These operations may include when particular parts shouldbe assembled, when inspections of parts assembled in object 102 shouldbe made, or other suitable types of operations.

Additionally, in some illustrative examples, nonconformance recorder 240may be included in object manager 124. Nonconformance recorder 240 maybe part of nonconformance visualization system 138 in object manager124. Further, other components also may be part of nonconformancevisualization system 138 depending on the particular implementation. Forexample, object visualizer 204 also may be part of nonconformancevisualization system 138.

In this illustrative example, nonconformance recorder 240 may recordnonconformances 140 in FIG. 1 in nonconformance database 242.Nonconformance database 242 contains nonconformance records 244.

Nonconformance records 244 record information about nonconformances 140.With nonconformance records 244, an analysis may be made ofnonconformances 140. The assembly of aircraft 104 may be managed basedon an identification of nonconformances 140 for aircraft 104. Theidentification of nonconformances 140 may be analyzed to determinewhether changes in the manner in which aircraft 104 is manufacturedshould be made. The analysis may also be used to change manufacturing offuture aircraft to reduce the occurrence of nonconformances.

As yet another illustrative example, object manager 124 also may includenonconformance analyzer 246. Nonconformance analyzer 246 is configuredto facilitate the analysis of nonconformances 140 that may be recordedin nonconformance records 244.

For example, nonconformance analyzer 246 may identify cluster 247 innonconformances 140. This indication may be made using nonconformancerecords 244. In these illustrative examples, cluster 247 may be two ormore of nonconformances 140 that are related to each other. Thisrelation of nonconformances 140 in cluster 247 may be based on one ormore parameters. These parameters may include, for example, at least oneof time, type of nonconformance, type of part, location, position ofaircraft 104 in assembly location 107, or other suitable types ofparameters.

Cluster 247 may be identified for additional analysis that may be usedto manage the manufacturing of aircraft 104 or other types of objects.The identification of cluster 247 may be made using any currentlyavailable cluster analysis technique for grouping objects in a set. Inthis illustrative example, the objects are nonconformances 140. Thetechnique may be achieved using various currently used algorithms orprocesses for cluster analysis selected from at least one ofhierarchical clustering, k-means algorithm, by clustering, fuzzyclustering, subspace clustering, or other suitable clusteringtechniques.

Although the depicted examples illustrate generating nonconformancerecords 244 using nonconformance recorder 240, nonconformance records244 may be generated using mechanisms other than nonconformance recorder240. For example, nonconformances 140 may be described usingnonconformance data 248. Nonconformance data 248 may be entered usingother mechanisms such as data entry into spreadsheets, a database, orsome other format. As a result, nonconformance records 244 may takevarious forms such as entries in the database, entries in a spreadsheet,a linked list, a flat file, or other suitable forms.

In these illustrative examples, nonconformance analyzer 246 isconfigured to import nonconformance data 248 and process nonconformancedata 248 to form nonconformance records 244 in a form that may be usedfor display, analysis, or both display and analysis. In this manner, theversatility of nonconformance analyzer 246 may be increased by includinga capability to use nonconformance data 248 from various sources.

In FIG. 2, different components are illustrated as being located inobject manager 124. These different components may be used as part ofdifferent systems. The systems may include at least one of objectvisualization system 134, shop order status visualization system 135,and other suitable systems. A component in object manager 124 may beused in more than one system. For example, object visualizer 204 may bein object visualization system 134, shop order status visualizationsystem 135, or nonconformance visualization system 138. In other words,the different components illustrated in object manager 124 may be usedat the same time or at different times by different systems.

Turning now to FIG. 3, an illustration of a block diagram of a sectionalview is depicted in accordance with an illustrative embodiment. Anexample of one implementation for sectional view 223 in FIG. 2 is shown.

As depicted, sectional view 223 includes a number of different pieces ofinformation. For example, sectional view 223 includes sections 300 andhotspots 302.

Sections 300 are graphical representations corresponding to sections 136for object 102 and, in particular, aircraft 104 in FIG. 1. In theseillustrative examples, sections 300 may be located in a single image,multiple images, or some other suitable form. Further, sections 300 aregraphical representations corresponding to sections 136 manufactured forassembly of aircraft 104.

In these illustrative examples, sections 300 may be selectable. Aselection of section 304 in sections 300 having hotspot 306 results in avolume corresponding to section 304 in model 216 being displayed in thisillustrative example. Hotspot 306 may be a pointer to volume identifier222 associated with volume 219. For example, hotspot 306 may include auniversal resource locator, or some other suitable addressing conventionto identify volume identifier 222 from volume identifiers 221 in volumedatabase 220.

Turning now to FIG. 4, an illustration of a block diagram of a volumeidentifier is depicted in accordance with an illustrative embodiment. Inthis illustrative example, one implementation for volume identifier 222in FIG. 2 is shown.

Volume identifier 222 includes a number of components. As depicted,volume identifier 222 includes identifier 400 and volume descriptor 402.

Identifier 400 distinguishes volume identifier 222 from others of volumeidentifiers 221 that may be present in volume database 220. Identifier400 may take various forms. For example, identifier 400 may be a word, aphrase, a number, an alphanumeric string, or some other suitable form.

Volume descriptor 402 describes the volume in model 216. For example,volume descriptor 402 may take the form of coordinates 406. Coordinates406 are in the coordinate system used by model 216 in this example. Forexample, coordinates 406 may be three coordinates that may be used todefine a polygon, a cube, or a cuboid. Of course, other information maybe present in volume descriptor 402 other than coordinates 406. Forexample, volume descriptor 402 may include a single coordinate and aradius used to define volume 219 in a form of a sphere. In still otherillustrative examples, a single coordinate may be present withpre-selected offsets that define volume 219 as a cube or some othershape.

In some illustrative examples, the volume identifier may also includepoint of view 408. Point of view 408 may define the view of the volumedisplayed to an operator when graphical representations 214 aredisplayed on graphical user interface. For example, point of view 408may include coordinates 410 of the point of view using the coordinatesystem for the volume.

With reference now to FIG. 5, an illustration of a block diagram of ashop order instance is depicted in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment. As depicted, shop order instance 500 is an example of a shoporder instance from shop order instances 132 in FIG. 1.

As depicted, shop order instance 500 may include a number of differentparts. Shop order instance 500 includes identifier 502, classification503, description 504, task 505, assigned operators 506, part identifier508, location 510, instructions 512, and status 518.

As depicted, identifier 502 may be used to uniquely identify a task intasks 118 in FIG. 1. Identifier 502 may be an alphanumeric identifier, anumber, or some other suitable type of identifier.

In this illustrative example, classification 503 is used to classify theshop order instance. This classification may be based on the type oftask to be performed. For example, the classifications may include seatinstallation, wiring, line replaceable unit installation, or othersuitable types of classifications. The classification may be descriptiveor may take the form of an identifier or other type of code.

Description 504 provides a description of task 505. This description maybe a short description to provide the operator information about task505. The description may be several words or a single sentence in someillustrative examples.

Task 505 identifies the work to be performed. For example, task 505 maybe to install a part, assemble parts, perform an inspection, or someother suitable piece of work.

Assigned operators 506 identifies a group of operators that may beassigned to perform task 505. In some cases, an operator may not yet beassigned to perform task 505 for shop order instance 500.

In this illustrative example, part identifier 508 identifies a partassembled in object 102 using shop order instance 500. In thisillustrative example, part identifier 508 is a part number for the part.For example, part identifier 508 may be a serial number, a combinationof a serial number and vendor identifier, or some other suitable type ofidentification that uniquely identifies a particular part from otherparts even if those parts are the same type.

In the illustrative examples, part identifier 508 may be used togenerate the graphical representation of the parts identified. Forexample, part identifier 508 may be used to locate the information in amodel needed to generate the graphical representation of the part fordisplay.

Location 510 identifies the location where task 505 is to be performed.This location may be in coordinates for object 102 or some othercoordinate system.

Instructions 512 are a group of instructions for performing task 505. Inparticular, the group of instructions may be for assembling a group ofparts. These instructions may be step-by-step instructions, guidance, orother suitable types of instructions. These instructions may provideguidance for assembling parts, inspecting parts, or other suitableoperations that may be performed for task 505. Instructions 512 also mayinclude plans for the location in which task 505 is to be performed.

As depicted, status 518 provides information about the performance oftask 505 for shop order instance 500. In this illustrative example, thestatus may indicate that work is to be performed, has been completed, isin progress, is unassigned, has been planned, is on hold, has beencanceled, or some other suitable status for shop order instance 500. Thestatus may be indicated using text, codes, symbols, or other suitablemechanisms. Additionally, if status 518 indicates that the work to beperformed has been completed, status 518 also may include a date andtime of when work for performing task 505 occurred.

With reference now to FIG. 6, an illustration of a block diagram of anonconformance record is depicted in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment. In this illustrative example, nonconformance record 600 isan example of a record that may be made for a nonconformance innonconformances 140 in FIG. 1. In particular, nonconformance record 600is an example of one implementation for a nonconformance record innonconformance records 244 in nonconformance database 242 in FIG. 2.

In this illustrative example, nonconformance record 600 includes anumber of different fields in which to record information about anonconformance. As depicted, nonconformance record 600 includes, forexample, identifier 602, product 604, date field 606, part identifier608, shop order instance identifier 610, aircraft coordinates 612, typeof nonconformance 614, and details 616.

Identifier 602 may be a unique identifier that identifies nonconformancerecord 600 with respect to other nonconformance records. This identifiermay take various forms. For example, identifier 602 may be in the formof characters, numbers, a mix of characters and numbers, or some othersuitable form.

Product 604 identifies the product. For example, product 604 mayidentify a particular model, line, or other identification for theaircraft in this example.

As depicted, date field 606 may indicate a date when the inspection wasperformed. Date field 606 also may include a time, depending on theparticular implementation.

Part identifier 608 identifies one or more parts in which thenonconformance has been identified. Part identifier 608 may be similarto part identifier 508 in shop order instance 500 in FIG. 5.

Shop order instance identifier 610 identifies a particular shop orderinstance in this illustrative example. For example, shop order instanceidentifier 610 may be used to identify the shop order instance in shoporder instances 132 within shop order database 212 in FIG. 2.

In this illustrative example, aircraft coordinates 612 identify thelocation of the nonconformance. In this illustrative example, theidentification is made by using the coordinate system for the aircraft.This coordinate system may have an origin selected somewhere within orsomewhere outside the aircraft, depending on the particularimplementation.

With aircraft coordinates 612, the location of a nonconformanceidentified in nonconformance record 600 may be used to identify alocation of the nonconformance in a model such as model 216 in FIG. 2.In this manner, aircraft coordinates 612 may be used to associateinformation about a nonconformance with a location in aircraft 104 inFIG. 1. In particular, the nonconformance data in nonconformance record600 may be associated with a particular part or assembly of parts inparts 106 using aircraft coordinates 612, part identifier 608, or somecombination thereof.

Type of nonconformance 614 provides more information about thenonconformance. This field may be used to categorize nonconformance. Forexample, type of nonconformance 614 may be a part fit that is out oftolerance, an incorrect part, a hole with dimensions out of tolerance, ahole in an incorrect location, a nonworking part, or some other suitablecategory.

In this illustrative example, details 616 is a field that provides morespecific information about the nonconformance. Details 616 may includenotes that may be entered by an operator performing the inspectionidentifying the nonconformance.

Of course, the fields illustrated in nonconformance record 600 are onlyexamples of some fields that may be used in nonconformance record 600.Other fields may be used in addition to or in place of the onesdepicted. For example, an owner field identifying the operatorperforming the inspection that identified the nonconformance may beincluded.

As another illustrative example, a position field may be present thatidentifies the position of an aircraft within an assembly line when thenonconformance is identified. As another example, when nonconformancerecord 600 is used for object 102 in a form other than aircraft 104,aircraft coordinates 612 may take other forms for the particular object.

The illustration of the different components that may be used inmanufacturing environment 100 in FIGS. 1-6 is not meant to implyphysical or architectural limitations to the manner in which anillustrative embodiment may be implemented. Other components in additionto or in place of the ones illustrated may be used. Some components maybe unnecessary. Also, the blocks are presented to illustrate somefunctional components. One or more of these blocks may be combined,divided, or combined and divided into different blocks when implementedin an illustrative embodiment. For example, although the illustrativeexamples are described with respect to an aircraft, an illustrativeembodiment may be applied to other objects other than aircraft, such as,for example, without limitation, a vehicle, a submarine, a personnelcarrier, a tank, a train, an automobile, a bus, a spacecraft, a surfaceship, a spacecraft, a satellite, a rocket, an engine, a computer,harvesters, construction cranes, bulldozers, mining equipment, or othersuitable types of objects.

With reference now to FIGS. 7-25, illustrations of the display ofgraphical user interfaces for viewing an aircraft and identifyingnonconformances are depicted in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment. These figures illustrate one manner in which graphical userinterface 208 in FIG. 2 may be implemented. The different graphical userinterfaces may be displayed on a display system, such as display system209 in FIG. 2, and an operator may interact with the graphical userinterfaces using an input system, such as input system 211 in FIG. 2.

With reference to FIG. 7, an illustration of a graphical user interfacefor viewing statuses of shop order instances is depicted in accordancewith an illustrative embodiment. In this illustrative example, graphicaluser interface 700 displays buildings 702 including building 704,building 706, and building 708.

In this particular example, each building in buildings 702 in graphicaluser interface 700 represents a location where manufacturing of aircraftoccurs. Each building may correspond to a database of aircraft that aremanufactured within the building.

Turning now to FIG. 8, an illustration of aircraft positions in abuilding is depicted in accordance with an illustrative embodiment. Inthis illustrative example, aircraft positions 800 are displayed ingraphical user interface 802. These positions correspond to tasks thatmay be performed at different stages of the assembly of an aircraft.

In this particular example, aircraft positions 800 include position 804,position 806, position 808, position 810, and position 812. In theseillustrative examples, certain tasks are performed in differentpositions in aircraft positions 800. In other words, the aircraftassembly progresses from position to position with different parts beingadded to the aircraft at the different positions in aircraft positions800.

A selection of one of these positions results in identifying graphicalrepresentations for parts that would be installed at a particularposition as well as any parts that may have been installed from a priorposition. As a result, parts that are not to be installed into asubsequent position are not present. For example, an aircraft inposition 812 is a fully configured aircraft. An aircraft in position 810may not have seats and carpet. An aircraft in position 808 may notinclude stove ends, lavatories, galleys, and other parts. Thesedifferent positions in aircraft positions 800 may have differentconditions of assembly of the aircraft in these illustrative examples.

In these illustrative examples, each of these positions may have modelsassociated with the position. These models may contain the parts thatare present in the aircraft for a particular position. As a result, aselection of a position results in a selection of models that may beused to display graphical representations of parts. As a result, modelsfor positions with fewer parts may be queried more quickly to identifyinformation to generate graphical representations of parts for theaircraft.

Additionally, in these illustrative examples, shop order instances in ashop order database may be identified for each of the positions. Inother words, each position may have a shop order database containingshop order instances that may be generated for those particularpositions. As a result, positions with fewer parts have fewer shop orderinstances to monitor or manage. In this manner, faster query of a shoporder database for a particular position may be made when that databaseis for a position with fewer parts. After the selection of the position,an operator may select a section of aircraft for review.

Turning now to FIG. 9, an illustration of a graphical user interface ofaircraft sections is depicted in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment. In this illustrative example, graphical user interface 900displays sections 902 for an aircraft in area 904 of graphical userinterface 900.

As depicted, sectional view 905 is displayed in area 904 of graphicaluser interface 900. Sectional view 905 is an example of oneimplementation for sectional view 223 shown in block form in FIG. 2 andFIG. 3. In this particular example, sectional view 905 may be for anaircraft in position 812 in FIG. 8.

An operator may select a section from sections 902. As depicted,sections 902 are examples of sections 300 in FIG. 3 as displayed ingraphical user interface 900. Sections 902 are selectable in thisparticular example. For example, section 903 in sections 902 isselectable by an operator in these illustrative examples. Section 903 isan upper barrel of an aircraft in this example.

With respect to selectability, sections 902 may include hotspots. Thesehotspots are not seen in this illustrative example. Hotspots are areasin graphical user interface 900 that may be selected to cause an action.In these illustrative examples, these hotspots correspond to sections902. The hotspots may encompass sections 902 or may be around sections902 or some combination thereof.

Additionally, an identification of the parts present in the section isalso made in response to the user selection of a particular section.This identification may include any parts that are present for theparticular position of the aircraft in that section. In other words, thesame section of an aircraft in different positions may have differentparts that are present based on tasks for installing parts. Thisidentification may be made through the use of states 226 in FIG. 2.

In the illustrative example, an operator may select to view the entireaircraft by selecting the entire aircraft in entire aircraft area 908 ingraphical user interface 900. In other words, the volume for display maybe the entire aircraft. Further, an operator may select groups ofsections 902. As depicted, the selection may be made by selecting one ofarea 910, area 912, area 914, area 916, area 918, and area 920 ingraphical user interface 900 in FIG. 9. In these illustrative examples,these areas have hotspots. In this manner, an operator may viewdifferent portions of an aircraft in a manner that suits the particularquery that the operator desires.

Turning now to FIG. 10, another illustration of a graphical userinterface of aircraft sections is depicted in accordance with anillustrative embodiment. In this illustrative example, graphical userinterface 1000 displays sections 1002 for an aircraft in area 1004 ofgraphical user interface 1000.

As depicted, sectional view 1005 is displayed in area 1004 of graphicaluser interface 1000. Sectional view 1005 is an example of oneimplementation for sectional view 223 shown in block form in FIG. 2 andFIG. 3. In this particular example, sectional view 1005 may be for anaircraft in position 804 in FIG. 8.

In this illustrative example, only a portion of an aircraft isillustrated in the view of sections 1002 in sectional view 1005. Asdepicted, only sections 1002 that are present in a particular positionare shown in this particular example.

Further, sections 1002 also may be selectable. The selectable ability ofsections 1002 may be enabled through the use of hotspots associated withsections 1002. As a result, the selection of a particular section insections 1002 may result in the display of the volume from a model ofaircraft containing the selected section.

As depicted, area 1008, area 1010, and 1012 also are selectable. Theseareas group sections 1002. These areas may also have hotspots associatedwith them. The selection of one of these areas results in a volumecontaining the different sections within an area being displayed.

The illustration of graphical user interface 700 with buildings 702 inFIG. 7, graphical user interface 802 with aircraft positions 800 in FIG.8, and graphical user interface 900 with sections 902 in FIG. 9, andgraphical user interface 1000 with sections 1002 in FIG. 10 are examplesof multilevel querying that may be performed in accordance with anillustrative embodiment. As depicted, the selection of a building frombuildings 702 may select a particular model for an aircraft. Theparticular model may be displayed with positions using graphical userinterface 802. The selection of a position may result in another viewbeing displayed with sections 902 in graphical user interface 900 orsections 1002 in graphical user interface 1000. In this manner, anoperator may more easily traverse models of different aircraft,depending on the position selected.

In FIGS. 11-15, illustrations of a graphical user interface are shown inwhich nonconformances are identified. Turning first to FIG. 11, anillustration of a volume displayed in response to selection of a sectionis depicted in accordance with an illustrative embodiment. In thisdepicted example, graphical user interface 1100 displays graphicalrepresentations 1102 of parts 1104 in section 903 in FIG. 9. This viewof section 903 is for the aircraft in position 808 in FIG. 8. Asdepicted, section 903 is an upper portion of the barrel for a fuselageof an aircraft.

As depicted, this view of section 903 may be initially based on adefault point of view. This point of view may be set using point of view408 in FIG. 4. From this view as displayed in graphical user interface1100, an operator may traverse graphical representations 1102 of parts1104 in section 903 to identify a nonconformance of the part withinsection 903.

An operator may traverse section 903 in a number of different ways. Forexample, an operator may select a graphical representation in graphicalrepresentations 1102 for a part in parts 1104 in section 903. Theselection of the graphical representation for a part may provide acloser view of that part.

In another illustrative example, graphical representations 1102 of parts1104 in section 903 may be traversed using commands 1106 displayed inmenu 1108. In this illustrative example, commands 1106 include top 1110,bottom 1112, side 1114, and perspective 1116. Of course, these commandsfor different views are only examples and are not meant to encompass allthe different types of commands that may be used to view graphicalrepresentations 1102 of particular parts in parts 1104. Commands such aszoom, pan, and other suitable commands also may be present in additionto or in place of the ones depicted in this illustrative example.

Additionally, in some cases, a part identifier may be entered into partfield 1118. By entering a part identifier, different views of aparticular part in parts 1104 may be seen by the operator. Additionally,the operator may also select a command for commands 1106 to provide aparticular view of the part.

Of course, other processes may be used to traverse and view graphicalrepresentations 1102 of parts 1104 within section 903. These otherprocesses may include those typically used with computer-aided designsoftware and other types of software in which graphical representations1102 of parts 1104 may be viewed and traversed.

In one illustrative example, an operator may traverse section 903 andview graphical representations 1102 of parts 1104 on interior wall 1120of section 903. This view of interior wall 1120 may be performed torecord a nonconformance on interior wall 1120.

Turning now to FIG. 12, an illustration of an interior wall of a portionof a fuselage for an aircraft is depicted in accordance with anillustrative embodiment. In this illustration, a view of interior wall1120 of section 903 for an upper barrel of a fuselage is shown ingraphical user interface 1100.

As depicted, panel 1200, panel 1202, panel 1204, panel 1206, panel 1208,and panel 1210 are part of interior wall 1120 and are displayed asgraphical representations 1102 of parts 1104 on interior wall 1120. Inthis illustrative example, nonconformances are located on panel 1204 andpanel 1206.

Turning now to FIG. 13, an illustration of a selection of parts foridentifying a nonconformance is depicted in accordance with anillustrative embodiment. In this illustrative example, the selection ofpanel 1204 and panel 1206 in graphical user interface 1100 results in anidentification of a part with a nonconformance. Panel 1204 and panel1206 are shown as being selected by highlight 1300. Highlight 1300indicates that these panels have been identified as parts in which anonconformance is present.

In this example, window 1304 is displayed in graphical user interface1100. Window 1304 may be used to identify information about thenonconformances in panel 1204 and panel 1206.

As can be seen, window 1304 includes description field 1306 in whichinformation about nonconformances may be entered. Description field 1306may be used to enter information that may be located in details 616 innonconformance record 600 in FIG. 6.

Paste point button 1308 may be used to enter coordinates using aselection of one or more graphical representations 1102 innonconformance record 600.

These coordinates may be aircraft coordinates using a coordinate systembased on a location in or relative to the aircraft. Aircraft coordinatesmay be entered through a selection of a part from the display ofgraphical representations 1102 of parts 1104 displayed in graphical userinterface 1100. For example, a selection of panel 1206 may result in thecoordinates for panel 1206 being recorded.

Report define button 1312 may be selected to define other informationsuch as the different fields shown in nonconformance record 600 in FIG.6. Other files may be attached to nonconformance record through the useof image define button 1316, report define button 1318, and file field1320. File field 1320 may be used to locate files such as images,reports, and other files that may be included with the nonconformancerecord created using window 1304 when image define button 1316 or reportdefine button 1318 is selected.

As illustrated, clear button 1322 in window 1304 may be used to clearinformation entered into window 1304. Browse button 1324 may be used tolocate files that may be attached in the nonconformance record. Savebutton 1326 may save information entered into window 1304 to form anonconformance record. Open button 1328 may be used to open anonconformance record for editing. Close button 1330 may be used toclose window 1304.

The illustration of the configuration of window 1304 is not meant tolimit the manner in which information may be received to create or edita nonconformance record. Other fields, controls, or elements may be usedto enter information into window 1304. For example, a field may bepresent to enter a name of the operator creating the nonconformancerecord. In some illustrative examples, some fields may be absent fromthe ones shown in window 1304. For example, one or both of image definebutton 1316 and report define button 1318 may be omitted.

In the illustrative examples, parts may cover other parts in graphicalrepresentations 1102 of parts 1104. In other words, additional parts maybe hidden by graphical representations 1102 of parts 1104 displayed ingraphical user interface 1100. In these illustrative examples, parts maybe removed to display graphical representations of other parts not shownin this view. For example, panel 1204 and panel 1206 may be removed todisplay graphical representations of additional parts not shown in thisview.

With reference now to FIG. 14, an illustration of a support structurewith nonconformances is depicted in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment. As depicted, panel 1204 and panel 1206 graphical userinterface 1100 have been removed from the graphical representations 1102of parts 1104 to reveal support structure 1400. In this illustrativeexample, area 1402 may be selected for recording a nonconformance.

With reference now to FIG. 15, an illustration of an enlarged view of anarea is depicted in accordance with an illustrative embodiment. In thisdepicted example, an enlarged view of area 1402 is shown in graphicaluser interface 1100.

In this example, a component in the form of clip 1500 is shown with hole1502 and hole 1504. The selection of clip 1500 results in highlighting1506 of clip 1500. Highlighting 1506 indicates that this part has beenselected for recording the presence of a nonconformance in the part.

In this illustrative example, hole 1502 has nonconformance.Nonconformance is the location of hole 1502. In this illustrativeexample, window 1304 is displayed again in graphical user interface 1100for use in recording the nonconformance of hole 1502. In thisillustrative example, window 1304 may be used to identify the locationof hole 1502. This identification may be used through the use of pastepoint button 1308. For example, the operator may select point 1508 andthen paste point 1508 using paste point button 1308. The coordinates ofhole 1502 may be identified by selecting a point including hole 1502 inthe graphical representation of hole 1502. This selection results in anidentification of the aircraft coordinate for hole 1502 being made inthis illustrative example.

These operations result in the coordinates for the location of point1508 being recorded. The identification of these coordinates may beperformed without the operator needing to know how to identify thecoordinates. The identification of these coordinates occurs through theselection of point 1508.

With reference next to FIG. 16, an illustration of a graphical userinterface with a display of nonconformances in an aircraft is depictedin accordance with an illustrative embodiment. In this depicted example,graphical user interface 1600 is an example of an implementation forgraphical user interface 208 in FIG. 2.

In this particular example, graphical user interface 1600 displaysvolume 1602 in an aircraft. In this particular example, volume 1602 isall of the aircraft. Of course, in other illustrative examples, volume1602 may be other portions of the aircraft such as a sectioncorresponding to a section as manufactured for assembly of the aircraft.Of course, the portion may be selected in other manners other thancorresponding to a section manufactured for assembly of the aircraft.

In this illustrative example, graphical indicators 1604 indicate thepresence of nonconformances in the aircraft. Graphical indicators 1604that are displayed in locations relative to volume 1602 indicate alocation of nonconformances.

In these illustrative examples, graphical indicators 1604 may takedifferent forms to visually provide information about thenonconformances within volume 1602. Graphical indicators 1604 may bedisplayed using different colors to indicate different types ofnonconformances. Further, a particular color may be used to indicatethat a nonconformance is part of a group of related nonconformances. Inthis illustrative example, this group of related nonconformances maytake the form of a cluster.

From this view of the aircraft, using volume 1602, an operator maymaneuver to see particular parts of the aircraft and obtain moreinformation about nonconformances indicated by graphical indicators1604. For example, a more detailed view of section 1606 may be shown byzooming in to section 1606.

Turning now to FIG. 17, another illustration of a graphical userinterface with a display of nonconformances in an aircraft is depictedin accordance with an illustrative embodiment. In this illustrativeexample, a closer or zoomed in view of section 1606 of volume 1602 inFIG. 16 of the aircraft is shown in graphical user interface 1600.

In this illustrative example, graphical indicators 1604 include, forexample, point 1700 with box 1702. These two graphical indicatorsindicate that the nonconformance identified by the two graphicalindicators are in the view of surface 1704 of the aircraft. The view ofsection 1706 may be magnified or zoomed in to obtain more informationabout the nonconformance at point 1700.

Other points without boxes, such as point 1708, indicate that thenonconformance is hidden from view. In other words, the nonconformanceidentified by point 1708 is not visible from surface 1704 of theaircraft in the depicted example. For example, the nonconformance may beon an opposite side of the aircraft or an interior of the aircraft inthis depicted example.

Turning now to FIG. 18, another illustration of a graphical userinterface with a display of nonconformances in an aircraft is depictedin accordance with an illustrative embodiment. In this example, a closerview of section 1706 of volume 1602 is displayed in a magnified form ingraphical user interface 1600.

In this illustrative example, the appearance of point 1700 and box 1702may change when point 1700 is selected. The change in appearanceindicates the selection of point 1700 in this illustrative example. Thischange may include, for example, a change of color, animation, or othersuitable types of changes in the display of point 1700.

Additionally, information 1800 about the nonconformance also may bedisplayed when a selection of point 1700 occurs. Information 1800 maybe, for example, obtained from information about the nonconformance in arecord, such as nonconformance record 600 in FIG. 6. In this example,the information is displayed as being overlaid on the view of theaircraft. In other illustrative examples, information may be displayedin a pop-up window, tooltip, or in some other suitable fashion.

With reference to FIG. 19, yet another illustration of a graphical userinterface with a display of nonconformances in an aircraft is depictedin accordance with an illustrative embodiment. In this view, point 1900indicates that a nonconformance is present in the aircraft in volume1602. Point 1900, however, is not associated with a location in volume1602 that is viewable from the current view displayed in graphical userinterface 1600.

In this example, a selection of point 1900 also results in information1902 being displayed in graphical user interface 1600. Of course, theuser may manipulate the view to display a location in volume 1602 thatmay be visible.

Turning next to FIG. 20, an illustration of a graphical user interfacewith a display of a nonconformance in an aircraft is depicted inaccordance with an illustrative embodiment. In this depicted example,graphical user interface 1600 displays a view of volume 1602 in whichthe nonconformance associated with point 1900 is visible. Indication ofvisibility of the nonconformance is made using box 2000 in graphicalindicators 1604 in this illustrative example.

With reference now to FIG. 21, another illustration of a graphical userinterface with a display of a nonconformance in an aircraft is depictedin accordance with an illustrative embodiment. In this example, point2100 and point 2102 are close enough to each other that selection of oneof these points may be more difficult than desired. In this illustrativeexample, a selection of area 2104 results in the display of menu 2106.Menu 2106 allows for selection of one of the nonconformances for point2100 and point 2102. A selection of one of these points results ininformation 2108 being displayed for the selected point.

With reference now to FIG. 22, yet another illustration of a graphicaluser interface with a display of a nonconformance in an aircraft isdepicted in accordance with an illustrative embodiment. In thisillustrative example, an operator may navigate to a particularnonconformance by entering coordinates for the nonconformance.

In this illustrative example, window 2200 is displayed in graphical userinterface 1600. As can be seen, window 2200 allows for the entry ofcoordinates in field 2202, field 2204, and field 2206. Field 2202corresponds to an X coordinate, field 2204 corresponds to a Ycoordinate, and field 2206 corresponds to a Z coordinate. In theseillustrative examples, these coordinates are airplane coordinates. Ofcourse, other information may be entered in field 2208, field 2210,field 2212, and field 2214. As depicted, field 2208 corresponds to yaw,field 2210 corresponds to pitch, field 2212 corresponds to roll, andfield 2214 corresponds to field of view. These fields may be used toidentify a viewpoint with respect to the location of the nonconformance.Field 2214 corresponds to a field of view for the viewpoint.

Turning now to FIG. 23, an illustration of a graphical user interfacefor managing the importing of nonconformance data is depicted inaccordance with an illustrative embodiment. In this illustrativeexample, graphical user interface 2300 displays nonconformance dataabout nonconformances of an aircraft assembly. Graphical user interface2300 also provides user interface controls for an operator to use in aprocess for managing the importing of the nonconformances in thenonconformance data, such as nonconformance data 248 in FIG. 2. Inparticular, graphical user interface 2300 is an example of animplementation of graphical user interface 208 in FIG. 2 fornonconformance analyzer 246 in FIG. 2.

As depicted, source window 2302 is an entry field in graphical userinterface 2300 that may be used to identify a source of nonconformancedata. For example, user input for a location of a source ofnonconformance data may be received in source window 2302. As anotherexample, responsive to receiving user input from an operator selectingselect file button 2304, a source selection tool may be selected toidentify the source. In these illustrative examples, a source selectiontool may be a file selection tool, a database selection tool, aspreadsheet selection tool, or any other suitable selection tool thatidentifies a source of nonconformance data. In this example, user inputselecting of the source of the nonconformance data uses the sourceselection tool. Source window 2302 is then used to present informationidentifying the source selected.

In this illustrative example, import data button 2306 is a button ingraphical user interface 2300 that begins a process for retrievingnonconformance data from the source of nonconformance data identified insource window 2302. Nonconformance data is retrieved from the identifiedsource when user input selecting import data button 2306 is received. Inthis illustrative example, the nonconformance data is an example ofnonconformance data 248 in FIG. 2.

The nonconformance data retrieved from the source is examined toidentify a format for a number of nonconformances in the nonconformancedata. The format for the nonconformances in the nonconformance data mayalso be predefined. In this illustrative example, the format for thenonconformance data comprises a number of headings for a number of typesof information for the nonconformances in the nonconformance data. Forexample, the nonconformance data may be information from a spreadsheet.In this depicted example, each type of information corresponds to aparticular column of information in the spreadsheet, each headingcorresponds to a column heading of the column in the spreadsheet, andeach nonconformance corresponds to a row of information in thespreadsheet.

Responsive to receiving the user input from selecting import data button2306 and further responsive to the parsing of the nonconformance dataidentified in source window 2302, input data window 2308 displaysinformation about the nonconformances in the nonconformance data. Asdepicted, input data window 2308 displays the number of headings for thenumber of types of information.

Input data window 2308 displays each nonconformance as a row ofinformation. The row of information displayed for each nonconformanceincludes a number of values for the number of types of information ofeach nonconformance. The number of values of each nonconformance isidentified in a process for parsing the nonconformance data according tothe format. In this illustrative example, the number of nonconformancesin the nonconformance data is an example of nonconformances 140 in FIG.1.

In the illustrative example, export section 2310 in graphical userinterface 2300 identifies a subset of the number of types of informationfor each nonconformance. Location section 2312 in export section 2310displays three predefined types for a location of a nonconformance. Thepredefined types for the location of a nonconformance are an Xcoordinate, a Y coordinate, and Z coordinate for the location of thenonconformance.

As depicted, location section 2312 may be used to provide user inputselecting which of the number of types of information in thenonconformance data identify the location of the nonconformance. Forexample, the number of types of information may include a location ofthe nonconformance in an aircraft. In this particular example, thelocation of each nonconformance may comprise an X coordinate, a Ycoordinate, and a Z coordinate in the number of types of information.

In this illustrative example, export section 2310 includes descriptionsection 2313 for selecting a subset of the number of types ofinformation for each nonconformance. Description section 2313 comprisesentry fields 2314 for headings 2316. In this illustrative example,headings 2316 include the headings for the number of types ofinformation identified in the format for the nonconformances in thenonconformance data. As shown, the selection of R button 2318 begins aprocess to store and retrieve selections made in export section 2310.For example, responsive to user input selecting R button 2318, theselections made in location section 2312 and entry fields 2314 arestored for later retrieval. In this example, responsive to having storedthe selections made in export section 2310, subsequent user inputselecting R button 2318 then retrieves the previously stored selections.Upon retrieving the previously stored selections, the previously storedselections are automatically restored.

Responsive to receiving user input selecting create extract button 2320,the retrieved nonconformance data is created according to the selectionsin export section 2310 and displayed in output data window 2322. Asdepicted, output data window 2322 comprises a number of columns ofinformation for each nonconformance. In this illustrative example,output data window 2322 includes column for description 2324, column forX coordinate 2326, column for Y coordinate 2328, and column for Zcoordinate 2330. As depicted, the selections made in entry fields 2314for headings 2316 are used to create a combined description for eachnonconformance shown in column for description 2324.

In this illustrative example, a particular subset of a particular numberof types of information about nonconformances has been made. As shown,responsive to the selection of a particular subset of the number oftypes of information, combined descriptions for the nonconformances arecreated according to the particular subset. As also shown, the createddescriptions of the nonconformances may include predefined separators,such as the character ‘|’, to separate each of the values of thenonconformances.

Responsive to receiving user input selecting export button 2332, thecreated nonconformance data shown in output data window 2322 is stored.For example, the formatted nonconformances may be stored for use in aprocess for displaying nonconformances at locations of an aircraftassembly. Responsive to receiving user input selecting close button2334, the graphical user interface 2300 is closed.

With reference next to FIG. 24, another illustration of a graphical userinterface for managing the importing of nonconformance data is depictedin accordance with an illustrative embodiment. In particular, FIG. 24illustrates identifying a subset of a number of nonconformances usinggraphical user interface 2300 in FIG. 23.

As depicted, graphical user interface 2300 provides user interfacecontrols for an operator to use in a process for selecting a number ofnonconformances in nonconformance data. In this illustrative example,input data window 2308 in FIG. 23 also includes selection windows forreceiving user input selecting values of nonconformances for identifyingnonconformances that have the selected values. Selection window 2402 ininput data window 2308 depicts number of values 2404 identified for aparticular type of information in the nonconformances. As shown,“process status” is one of the particular types of information in thenonconformances that may be depicted by number of values 2404. In thisillustrative example, user input has been received selecting the value“open.” The selection of the value “open” begins a process foridentifying a subset of the number of nonconformances that have thevalue “open” for the “process status” information in the nonconformance.

With reference next to FIG. 25, yet another illustration of a graphicaluser interface for managing the importing of nonconformance data isdepicted in accordance with an illustrative embodiment. In particular,FIG. 25 illustrates displaying a subset of a number of nonconformancesusing graphical user interface 2300 in FIG. 23.

As depicted, nonconformances 2502 in input data window 2308 is a subsetof nonconformances. In particular, responsive to receiving user inputselecting particular values for a number of types of information ofnonconformances, input data window 2308 is modified to show onlynonconformances having the same values as the selected values. As alsodepicted, nonconformances 2504 in output data window 2322 are alsomodified to only include the subset of nonconformances having the samevalues as the selected values.

The illustrations of the different graphical user interfaces in FIGS.7-25 are provided only as examples of some implementations for graphicaluser interface 208 in FIG. 2. These examples are not meant to limit themanner in which an illustrative embodiment may be implemented. Forexample, although the different examples are displayed with reference toaircraft, similar displays may be used for other types of vehicles orobjects. For example, the graphical user interfaces may be configuredfor sections of objects such as an automobile, a ship, a satellite, anengine, or some other suitable type of object.

As another illustrative example, the display of the different graphicaluser interfaces may be performed using other graphical user interfacesin addition to or in place of the ones depicted. Further, the order ofthe graphical user interfaces may vary from the order described above.

With reference next to FIG. 26, an illustration of a flowchart of aprocess to visually query an object is depicted in accordance with anillustrative embodiment. In this illustrative example, the method may beused to visually query an object such as an aircraft. The process may beimplemented using object manager 124 in FIG. 1. In particular, one ormore of the different components for object manager 124 illustrated inFIG. 2 may be used to visually query an aircraft.

The process begins by identifying a model for the aircraft (operation2600). In the illustrative examples, a model for the aircraft may beidentified in a number of ways as described above. For example, a modelmay be identified by selecting the model from a list of models. In otherillustrative examples, the model may be identified visually using agraphical user interface such as graphical user interface 700 in FIG. 7.

The process then displays sections of the aircraft in a graphical userinterface on a display device (operation 2602), with the processterminating thereafter. The sections correspond to sections manufacturedfor assembly of aircraft. Further, the sections also are selectable inthe illustrative examples. The ability to select these sections may beprovided through various mechanisms. In this illustrative example, theselectability may be provided through hotspots associated with thesections that are displayed in the graphical user interface. Further,the sections are displayed in an exploded view in operation 2602.

With reference now to FIG. 27, an illustration of a flowchart of aprocess for analyzing nonconformances is depicted in accordance with anillustrative embodiment. In this illustrative example, the differentoperations in FIG. 27 may be implemented in object manager 124 inFIG. 1. In particular, one or more of the different components forobject manager 124 illustrated in FIG. 2 may be used to visually queryan aircraft. For example, one or more of the different operations may beimplemented in nonconformance visualization system 138 in FIG. 1. Inparticular, different operations may be implemented using at least oneof nonconformance analyzer 246 or object visualizer 204 in FIG. 2.

The process begins by identifying a volume in an aircraft (operation2700). As depicted, the volume may be identified from displayingsections such as those in FIG. 9 and receiving user input selecting asection. The volume may be identified from the selection of the sectionsdisplayed. In other illustrative examples, the section may be identifiedfrom a user input providing coordinates to a location in the aircraft.

The process then identifies nonconformances within the volume of theaircraft (operation 2702). The nonconformances may be identified bysearching for nonconformances that have coordinates located within thevolume that have been identified. These coordinates may be identifiedfrom nonconformance records 244 in FIG. 2.

The process then displays graphical indicators indicatingnonconformances within the volume in a graphical user interface on adisplay device (operation 2704), with the process terminatingthereafter.

Turning now to FIG. 28, an illustration of a flowchart of a process forvisually querying nonconformances in an aircraft is depicted inaccordance with an illustrative embodiment. This process is an exampleof one manner in which an operator may visually view different parts ofan aircraft without needing to know coordinates for the differentlocations in which the parts are located. The different operationsillustrated in FIG. 28 may be implemented using object visualizer 204and nonconformance analyzer 246 in FIG. 2.

The process begins by displaying a graphical user interface with a groupof buildings in a manufacturing facility (operation 2800). The graphicaluser interface includes hotspots for the buildings that can be selected.A hotspot is a portion of the graphical user interface that may beselected to cause an action. In these illustrative examples, thebuildings are hotspots that may be selected by an operator.

The process then receives user input selecting a building (operation2802). In this illustrative example, each building may be used toassemble a particular aircraft. The particular aircraft may be aparticular type of aircraft such as the model. In some cases, more thanone building may be used to assemble the same type of aircraft but theparticular aircraft may be a specific build for a customer with specificoptions. In other words, different aircraft of the same type may beassembled in different buildings that have different options althoughthey are of the same type.

Next, a model of the aircraft is identified from a selection of thebuilding in the group of buildings in the manufacturing facility(operation 2803). Positions in the building are identified (operation2804). Each building may have different positions for the aircraft thatare being assembled. Further, even if a building has the same positions,the status of an aircraft at a particular building at particularpositions may be different from other buildings. Further, even with thesame positions, different aircraft may be assembled in the positions indifferent buildings.

The positions are displayed in a graphical user interface (operation2806). In these illustrative examples, the different positions arehotspots that may be selected through user input entered by an operator.The process then receives user input for selecting a position.

The process then identifies a sectional view for the aircraft based on aselection of a position (operation 2808). In this illustrative example,each position may have a different sectional view that may be displayed.The sections of aircraft in a position are the sections manufactured atthe position selected in these illustrative examples. The sectional viewincludes sections for that particular position.

As depicted, the sectional view may be, for example, sectional view 223in sectional views 224 in FIG. 2. Different sectional views are presentfor different positions in the illustrative example. Sectional view 905in FIG. 9 and sectional view 1005 in FIG. 10 are examples of sectionalviews that may be selected depending on the position selected for theaircraft in operation 2808.

In these illustrative examples, the sectional views were selected forparts that are present in the aircraft for the position. These are partsthat may already be present from assembly of the aircraft in a priorposition or may be parts that are to be assembled in the positionselected.

The process then displays sections of the aircraft (operation 2810). Inoperation 2810, the sections are displayed in the sectional view of theaircraft. Further, the different sections are displayed in associationwith hotspots that may be selected by user input entered by an operator.The process then detects a selection of a section from the sectionsdisplayed in the graphical user interface (operation 2812). In operation2812, the section has hotspots associated with the volume identifier.The selection of a section of an aircraft involves selecting the hotspotassociated with the aircraft. The hotspot points to a volume identifier,such as volume identifier 222 in FIG. 2. In some cases, the hotspot maybe a link pointing to the volume identifier. For example, the hotspotmay be an index used to identify a volume identifier.

The process then identifies a volume in the model corresponding to thesection selected from the sections displayed in the graphical userinterface (operation 2814). In these illustrative examples, each sectionof an aircraft is associated with the volume for the aircraft. Thisvolume is identified from volume identifiers associated with sections inthe sectional view using the volume identifier pointed to by the hotspotselected for the section. The volume identifier may include informationdefining the volume. For example, volume identifier 222 may includevolume descriptor 402 as depicted in FIG. 4. In particular, theidentifier may include a group of coordinates defining the volume in themodel.

The process then identifies parts in the volume (operation 2816). Theprocess also identifies nonconformances within the volume of theaircraft (operation 2818). In these illustrative examples, thenonconformances are for one or more of the parts identified in thevolume.

The parts are displayed in the graphical user interface using the partsidentified in the volume (operation 2820). The graphical indicatorsindicating the presence of nonconformances are displayed within thevolume of the aircraft (operation 2822). The display of thenonconformances may be displayed in association with the partsdisplayed. In other words, a graphical indicator may be displayed in amanner that draws attention to a part for which the nonconformance hasbeen identified.

Next, a determination is made as to whether a new section of theaircraft has been selected for the position of the aircraft (operation2824). If any section has been selected, the process then returns tooperation 2810 as described above.

If a new section has not been selected, a determination is made as towhether a new position has been selected for the aircraft (operation2826). If a new position has been selected, the process then returns tooperation 2808 as described above. If a new position has not beenselected, the process determines whether a new building has beenselected (operation 2828). If a new building has been selected, theprocess returns to operation 2804. Otherwise, the process performs theoperation selected by the operator (operation 2830) with the processthen returning to operation 2820. In operation 2830, the operator mayrotate the parts displayed in the volume, magnify the display, removeparts, annotate parts, or perform other operations with respect to theparts displayed in the volume.

Turning now to FIG. 29, an illustration of a flowchart of a process forrecording a nonconformance is depicted in accordance with anillustrative embodiment. In this depicted example, the processillustrated in FIG. 29 may be used to record a nonconformance and anobject, such as an aircraft. This process may be implemented withinnonconformance visualization system 138 in object manager 124 in FIG. 1.In particular, these operations may be implemented in nonconformancerecorder 240 in FIG. 2.

The process begins by identifying a model for the aircraft (operation2900). The process then displays sections of the aircraft in a graphicaluser interface on a display device (operation 2902). In the illustrativeexamples, the sections correspond to sections as manufactured forassembly of the aircraft and wherein the sections are selectable. Inother illustrative examples, the sections may be defined in other ways.

The process then displays graphical representations of parts in a volumein the model in a graphical user interface on a display device from aselection of the section in the sections (operation 2904). In operation2904, the volume corresponds to a location of the nonconformance in theaircraft. The process identifies a nonconformance for a part from aselection of a graphical representation of a part from the graphicalrepresentations of the parts (operation 2906). In operation 2906, theselection of the part results in the display of a window to recordinformation about the nonconformance. This window may be, for example,window 1304 in FIG. 13. Of course any construct may be used to enterinformation about a nonconformance that has been identified. In theillustrative examples, identifying the nonconformance of the part in theaircraft may be performed prior to identifying the nonconformance forthe part from the selection of the graphical representation of the partfrom the graphical representations of the parts in operation 2906.

The process then records the nonconformance that was identified(operation 2908). The process terminates thereafter.

Turning now to FIG. 30, an illustration of a flowchart of a process forrecording a nonconformance is depicted in accordance with anillustrative embodiment. The process illustrated in FIG. 30 is anexample of one implementation for operation 2908 in FIG. 29.

The process begins by detecting a selection of the graphicalrepresentation of the part displayed in the graphical user interface(operation 3000). The process then receives information about the partthrough the graphical user interface (operation 3002).

In operation 3002, the information about the nonconformance may beentered through the entry of information by an operator in a windowdisplayed in a graphical user interface. This graphical user interfacemay be displayed in a data processing system. The data processing systemmay be selected from one of a tablet computer, a mobile phone, a laptopcomputer, a desktop computer, or other suitable computing device. Inthese illustrative examples, information is received from a dataprocessing system located in a location that is selected from one ofinside of the aircraft and outside of the aircraft.

For example, the information may be entered in the data processingsystem while an operator is in the aircraft performing the inspectionidentifying the nonconformance. In other illustrative examples, thisoperation may be performed by an operator entering information in thedata processing system at another location after the inspection has beenperformed. The other location may be outside of the aircraft, at anotherbuilding, or some other suitable location.

The process then stores the information in a nonconformance record in anonconformance database (operation 3004) with the process terminatingthereafter. The storing of information may be within nonconformancerecords 244 in nonconformance database 242 in FIG. 2. The record may be,for example, nonconformance record 600 in FIG. 6.

Turning now to FIG. 31, an illustration of a flowchart of a process foridentifying groupings of nonconformances is depicted in accordance withan illustrative embodiment. The process illustrated in FIG. 31 may beimplemented in object manager 124 in FIG. 1. In particular, one or moreof the different components for object manager 124 illustrated in FIG. 2may be used to visually query an aircraft. For example, the process maybe implemented in nonconformance visualization system 138. Inparticular, different operations in the process may be implemented usingat least one of nonconformance analyzer 246 or object visualizer 204 inFIG. 2.

The process identifies a number of parameters of interest (operation3100). These parameters are ones that may be used to identify a clusterof nonconformances. The number of parameters may include, for example,the type of nonconformance, a location of the nonconformance, or othersuitable types of parameters. For example, nonconformances having alocation within a selected distance of a point in the volume may beconsidered to form a cluster of nonconformances. In another illustrativeexample, nonconformances for a particular part in the volume that exceedsome threshold level may be considered a cluster.

The process then selects a number of graphical indicators for a clusterof nonconformances (operation 3102). For example, the graphicalindicator may be a color. Nonconformances that are not part of thecluster may be displayed with points having one color whilenonconformances that are part of the cluster may be displayed withpoints having another color.

Thereafter, the process displays the number of graphical indicators inthe graphical user interface to indicate the presence of the cluster ofnonconformances (operation 3104), with the process terminatingthereafter. This process may be repeated for any number of times fordifferent parameters to identify different clusters that may be present.

With reference next to FIG. 32, an illustration of a flowchart of aprocess for managing the importing of nonconformance data is depicted inaccordance with an illustrative embodiment. The process may beimplemented in nonconformance analyzer 246 in FIG. 2.

The process begins by displaying a graphical user interface forimporting nonconformance data (operation 3200). The process receivesuser input selecting a source for retrieving nonconformance data(operation 3202). The process next retrieves the nonconformance datafrom the source (operation 3204). The process identifies a format forinformation about nonconformances in the nonconformance data (operation3206). In this illustrative example, the nonconformances in thenonconformance data are an example of nonconformances 140 in FIG. 1 innonconformance data 248 in FIG. 2.

Next, the process identifies a number of types of information for thenonconformance data based on the format (operation 3208). For example,the number of types of information for the nonconformance data may beincluded in the particular format identified in the nonconformance data,may be predefined for the particular format, and may be defined by anyother suitable means.

The process also identifies a number of headings to describe the numberof types of information for the nonconformance data (operation 3210).The process further identifies values for the number of types ofinformation for a number of nonconformances in the nonconformance databased on the format (operation 3212).

The process displays the number of headings and the values for thenumber of nonconformances in a first window (operation 3214). Theprocess also displays the headings as user selectable options foridentifying a subset of the number of types of information for a secondwindow (operation 3216). The process receives user input identifying thesubset of the number of types of information (operation 3218). Theprocess then displays a subset of the headings in a second window basedon the selected subset of the number of types of information (operation3220). The process also displays the number of headings as drop downmenus, each menu comprising a subset of values of the number ofnonconformances (operation 3222).

The process identifies unique values for each of the number of types ofinformation in the values for the number of nonconformances (operation3224). The process displays the unique values for each of the number oftypes of information as user selectable options for identifying a subsetof the number of nonconformances (operation 3226). The process receivesuser input identifying the subset of the number of nonconformances(operation 3228). The process displays the subset of nonconformances ina third window based on the subset of the number of types of information(operation 3230).

The process next receives user input selecting a target for storingnonconformance data (operation 3232). The process then stores the subsetof values for the subset of nonconformances in the target (operation3234), with the process terminating thereafter.

The flowcharts and block diagrams in the different depicted embodimentsillustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of somepossible implementations of apparatuses and methods in an illustrativeembodiment. In this regard, each block in the flowcharts or blockdiagrams may represent a module, a segment, a function, and/or a portionof an operation or step. For example, one or more of the blocks may beimplemented as program code, in hardware, or a combination of theprogram code and hardware. When implemented in hardware, the hardwaremay, for example, take the form of integrated circuits that aremanufactured or configured to perform one or more operations in theflowcharts or block diagrams. When implemented as a combination ofprogram code and hardware, the implementation may take the form offirmware.

In some alternative implementations of an illustrative embodiment, thefunction or functions noted in the blocks may occur out of the ordernoted in the figures. For example, in some cases, two blocks shown insuccession may be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be performed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. Also, other blocks may be added in addition tothe illustrated blocks in a flowchart or block diagram.

In one illustrative example, sections may not be displayed in anexploded view in operation 2602 in FIG. 26. Instead, the sections may bedisplayed as a whole aircraft in which different sections may beselected through hotspots. The different sections may be indicated usinglines or other graphical indicators in this type of implementation.

In another illustrative example, operation 2820 in FIG. 28 and whichparts are displayed in the graphical user interface may be omitted. Insome illustrative examples, graphical indicators indicating the presenceof nonconformances may be displayed without parts. This type of displaymay be used in some cases when the display of parts may clutter or skewthe view of nonconformances in a portion or all of the aircraft for thevolume displayed.

Turning now to FIG. 33, an illustration of a block diagram of a dataprocessing system is depicted in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment. Data processing system 3300 may be used to implementcomputer system 126 in FIG. 1. In this illustrative example, dataprocessing system 3300 includes communications framework 3302, whichprovides communications between processor unit 3304, memory 3306,persistent storage 3308, communications unit 3310, input/output unit3312, and display 3314. In this example, communications framework 3302may take the form of a bus system.

Processor unit 3304 serves to execute instructions for software that maybe loaded into memory 3306. Processor unit 3304 may be a number ofprocessors, a multi-processor core, or some other type of processor,depending on the particular implementation.

Memory 3306 and persistent storage 3308 are examples of storage devices3316. A storage device is any piece of hardware that is capable ofstoring information, such as, for example, without limitation, data,program code in functional form, and/or other suitable informationeither on a temporary basis and/or a permanent basis. Storage devices3316 may also be referred to as computer readable storage devices inthese illustrative examples. Memory 3306, in these examples, may be, forexample, a random access memory or any other suitable volatile ornon-volatile storage device. Persistent storage 3308 may take variousforms, depending on the particular implementation.

For example, persistent storage 3308 may contain one or more componentsor devices. For example, persistent storage 3308 may be a hard drive, aflash memory, a rewritable optical disk, a rewritable magnetic tape, orsome combination of the above. The media used by persistent storage 3308also may be removable. For example, a removable hard drive may be usedfor persistent storage 3308.

Communications unit 3310, in these illustrative examples, provides forcommunications with other data processing systems or devices. In theseillustrative examples, communications unit 3310 is a network interfacecard.

Input/output unit 3312 allows for input and output of data with otherdevices that may be connected to data processing system 3300. Forexample, input/output unit 3312 may provide a connection for user inputthrough a keyboard, a mouse, and/or some other suitable input device.Further, input/output unit 3312 may send output to a printer. Display3314 provides a mechanism to display information to a user.

Instructions for the operating system, applications, and/or programs maybe located in storage devices 3316, which are in communication withprocessor unit 3304 through communications framework 3302. The processesof the different embodiments may be performed by processor unit 3304using computer-implemented instructions, which may be located in amemory, such as memory 3306.

These instructions are referred to as program code, computer usableprogram code, or computer readable program code that may be read andexecuted by a processor in processor unit 3304. The program code in thedifferent embodiments may be embodied on different physical or computerreadable storage media, such as memory 3306 or persistent storage 3308.

Program code 3318 is located in a functional form on computer readablemedia 3320 that is selectively removable and may be loaded onto ortransferred to data processing system 3300 for execution by processorunit 3304. Program code 3318 and computer readable media 3320 formcomputer program product 3322 in these illustrative examples.

In one example, computer readable media 3320 may be computer readablestorage media 3324 or computer readable signal media 3326. In theseillustrative examples, computer readable storage media 3324 is aphysical or tangible storage device used to store program code 3318rather than a medium that propagates or transmits program code 3318.

Alternatively, program code 3318 may be transferred to data processingsystem 3300 using computer readable signal media 3326. Computer readablesignal media 3326 may be, for example, a propagated data signalcontaining program code 3318. For example, computer readable signalmedia 3326 may be an electromagnetic signal, an optical signal, and/orany other suitable type of signal. These signals may be transmitted overcommunications links, such as wireless communications links, opticalfiber cable, coaxial cable, a wire, and/or any other suitable type ofcommunications link.

The different components illustrated for data processing system 3300 arenot meant to provide architectural limitations to the manner in whichdifferent embodiments may be implemented. The different illustrativeembodiments may be implemented in a data processing system includingcomponents in addition to and/or in place of those illustrated for dataprocessing system 3300. Other components shown in FIG. 33 can be variedfrom the illustrative examples shown. The different embodiments may beimplemented using any hardware device or system capable of runningprogram code 3318.

Illustrative embodiments of the disclosure may be described in thecontext of aircraft manufacturing and service method 3400 as shown inFIG. 34 and aircraft 3500 as shown in FIG. 35. Turning first to FIG. 34,an illustration of a block diagram of an aircraft manufacturing andservice method is depicted in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment. During pre-production, aircraft manufacturing and servicemethod 3400 may include specification and design 3402 of aircraft 3500in FIG. 35 and material procurement 3404.

During production, component and subassembly manufacturing 3406 andsystem integration 3408 of aircraft 3500 in FIG. 35 takes place.Thereafter, aircraft 3500 in FIG. 35 may go through certification anddelivery 3410 in order to be placed in service 3412. While in service3412 by a customer, aircraft 3500 in FIG. 35 is scheduled for routinemaintenance and service 3414, which may include modification,reconfiguration, refurbishment, and other maintenance or service.

Each of the processes of aircraft manufacturing and service method 3400may be performed or carried out by a system integrator, a third party,and/or an operator. In these examples, the operator may be a customer.For the purposes of this description, a system integrator may include,without limitation, any number of aircraft manufacturers andmajor-system subcontractors; a third party may include, withoutlimitation, any number of vendors, subcontractors, and suppliers; and anoperator may be an airline, a leasing company, a military entity, aservice organization, and so on.

With reference now to FIG. 35, an illustration of a block diagram of anaircraft is depicted in which an illustrative embodiment may beimplemented. In this example, aircraft 3500 is produced by aircraftmanufacturing and service method 3400 in FIG. 34 and may includeairframe 3502 with systems 3504 and interior 3506. Examples of systems3504 include one or more of propulsion system 3508, electrical system3510, hydraulic system 3512, and environmental system 3514. Any numberof other systems may be included. Although an aerospace example isshown, different illustrative embodiments may be applied to otherindustries, such as the automotive industry.

Apparatuses and methods embodied herein may be employed during at leastone of the stages of aircraft manufacturing and service method 3400 inFIG. 34. For example, one or more illustrative embodiments may beimplemented during system integration 3408. The different illustrativeexamples may be implemented to identify information to perform tasks toassemble parts on aircraft 3500.

In particular, the visual query of aircraft may be used to identifylocations where tasks for shop order instances are to be performed orwhere tasks have been performed. Additionally, an illustrativeembodiment also may be implemented during maintenance and service 3414.For example, information about the aircraft may be visually queried andviewed by an operator to perform tasks to assemble parts formaintenance, upgrades, refurbishment, and other operations duringmaintenance and service 3414 may be identified using an illustrativeembodiment.

Turning now to FIG. 36, an illustration of a block diagram of amanagement system is depicted in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment. Aircraft management system 3600 is a physical hardwaresystem. In this illustrative example, aircraft management system 3600includes at least one of manufacturing system 3602 or aircraftmaintenance system 3604.

Manufacturing system 3602 is configured to manufacture products, such asaircraft 3500 in FIG. 35. As depicted, manufacturing system 3602includes manufacturing equipment 3606. Manufacturing equipment 3606includes at least one of fabrication equipment 3608 or assemblyequipment 3610.

Fabrication equipment 3608 is equipment that may be used to fabricatecomponents for parts used to form aircraft 3500. For example,fabrication equipment 3608 may include machines and tools. Thesemachines and tools may be at least one of a drill, a hydraulic press, afurnace, a mold, a composite tape laying machine, a vacuum system, alathe, or other suitable types of equipment. Fabrication equipment 3608may be used to fabricate at least one of metal parts, composite parts,semiconductors, circuits, fasteners, ribs, skin panels, spars, antennas,or other suitable types of parts.

Assembly equipment 3610 is equipment used to assemble parts to formaircraft 3500. In particular, assembly equipment 3610 may be used toassemble components and parts to form aircraft 3500. Assembly equipment3610 also may include machines and tools. These machines and tools maybe at least one of a robotic arm, a crawler, a faster installationsystem, a rail-based drilling system, or a robot. Assembly equipment3610 may be used to assemble parts such as seats, horizontalstabilizers, wings, engines, engine housings, landing gear systems, andother parts for aircraft 3500.

In this illustrative example, aircraft maintenance system 3604 includesmaintenance equipment 3612. Maintenance equipment 3612 may include anyequipment needed to perform maintenance on aircraft 3500. Thismaintenance may include tools for performing different operations onparts on aircraft 3500. These operations may include at least one ofdisassembling parts, refurbishing parts, inspecting parts, reworkingparts, manufacturing placement parts, or other operations for performingmaintenance on aircraft 3500. These operations may be for routinemaintenance, inspections, upgrades, refurbishment, or other types ofmaintenance operations.

In the illustrative example, maintenance equipment 3612 may includeultrasonic inspection devices, x-ray imaging systems, vision systems,drills, crawlers, and other suitable devices. In some cases, maintenanceequipment 3612 may include fabrication equipment 3608, assemblyequipment 3610, or both to produce and assemble parts that may be neededfor maintenance.

Aircraft management system 3600 also includes control system 3614.Control system 3614 is a hardware system and may also include softwareor other types of components. Control system 3614 is configured tocontrol the operation of at least one of manufacturing system 3602 oraircraft maintenance system 3604. In particular, control system 3614 maycontrol the operation of at least one of fabrication equipment 3608,assembly equipment 3610, or maintenance equipment 3612.

The hardware in control system 3614 may include computers, circuits,networks, and other types of equipment. The control may take the form ofdirect control of manufacturing equipment 3606. For example, robots,computer-controlled machines, and other equipment may be controlled bycontrol system 3614. In other illustrative examples, control system 3614may manage operations performed by human operators 3616 in manufacturingor performing maintenance on aircraft 3500. In these illustrativeexamples, object manager 124 in FIG. 1 may be implemented in controlsystem 3614 to manage the manufacturing of aircraft 3500 in FIG. 35.

In the different illustrative examples, human operators 3616 may operateor interact with at least one of manufacturing equipment 3606,maintenance equipment 3612, or control system 3614. This interaction maybe performed to manufacture aircraft 3500.

Of course, aircraft management system 3600 may be configured to manageother products. Although aircraft management system 3600 has beendescribed with respect to manufacturing in the aerospace industry,manufacturing system 3602 may be configured to manufacture products forother industries. For example, aircraft management system 3600 may beconfigured to manage products for the automotive industry as well as anyother suitable industries.

Turning now to FIG. 37, an illustration of a flowchart of a process formanaging the manufacturing of an aircraft is depicted in accordance withan illustrative embodiment. The process illustrated in FIG. 37 may beimplemented in control system 3614 in FIG. 36. This process may be usedto determine whether changes need to be made to the manufacturing of anaircraft.

The process begins by analyzing nonconformance records in anonconformance database (operation 3700). For example, the analysis maybe made of nonconformance records 244 in nonconformance database 242 inFIG. 2.

A determination is made as to whether an area of interest is presentfrom the nonconformances identified (operation 3702). If a large clusterof nonconformances are present in a particular area or position in theassembly line, an area of interest may be identified. An area ofinterest may also be present when the number of nonconformances aregreater than desired. The area of interest may be, for example, an areain the aircraft, a position in the assembly line, or some other suitabletype of area.

If an area of interest is identified, the process generates anindication that an area of interest is present in the manufacturing ofthe aircraft (operation 3704) with the process then returning tooperation 3700. The records in the nonconformance database may beupdated or changed as the process returns to operation 3700.

This indication may be used to make changes in the manufacturing ofaircraft 3500. These changes may include at least one of changing adesign, changing an assembly process, selecting a new vendor, or someother suitable change that may reduce the occurrence of nonconformancesin the manufacturing of aircraft.

The process also returns to operation 3700 if an area of interest is notidentified from the nonconformances identified in operation 3702. Theprocess may continue to loop back until the process is terminated.

In this manner, operators may visualize information about an aircraftusing a graphical user interface. This visualization may be performed onthe shop floor by operators who may not have experience and trainingwith computer-aided design software. This visual query allows anoperator to visually look at an aircraft or other object.

The visualization may be performed without operators having to knowcoordinates for locations in the aircraft. In these illustrativeexamples, the graphical user interface displays graphicalrepresentations of the aircraft that allows the operators to viewdifferent portions of the aircraft without using coordinates to traversethe views of the aircraft.

With the visualization of the aircraft, the identification ofnonconformances in an aircraft may be made more easily by operators. Inthe illustrative examples, an operator may visually view the presence ofa nonconformance by selecting a graphical indicator representing thenonconformance displayed in a volume for the aircraft or other object.In other words, the operator does not need to identify airplanecoordinates or other information about the location of thenonconformance. Additionally, an operator may enter coordinates of thelocation of the nonconformance resulting in a display of the volume inthe aircraft containing the nonconformance with a graphical indicatorindicating the location of the nonconformance.

Additionally, relations such as clustering of nonconformances may bevisualized using an illustrative embodiment. This visualization ofclusters may be used by an operator to obtain more information aboutparticular nonconformances that may be present. This information may beused to analyze and potentially make changes to the design of parts,fabrication process, and assembly process, with operations used tomanufacture an aircraft.

Turning now to FIG. 38, a more detailed illustration of a flowchart of aprocess for processing nonconformances is depicted in accordance with anillustrative embodiment. The process illustrated in FIG. 38 may beimplemented in control system 3614 in FIG. 36. This process may be usedto determine whether changes need to be made to the manufacturing of anaircraft.

The process begins by identifying nonconformance data for processing(operation 3800). In this illustrative example, the nonconformance datamay be obtained from various sources. For example, nonconformance datamay be obtained from nonconformance records 244 located innonconformance database 242 in FIG. 2. In these illustrative examples,the nonconformance data may include data from nonconformance records forother aircraft in addition to the current aircraft being analyzed. Inthis manner, the nonconformance data may include historical data thatmay be used to analyze whether trends or other types of statisticalfactors are present.

The process then identifies densities for the nonconformances (operation3802). These densities may be based on various factors. For example, thedensities may be selected based on at least one of a location of thenonconformance in the aircraft, a position in the assembly line in whichthe nonconformance was identified, part spun which nonconformancesidentified, and other suitable factors.

A determination is made as to whether an area of interest is present forthe aircraft from density information for the nonconformances (operation3804). In these illustrative examples, the determination may be made bycomparing the nonconformances in the aircraft with other nonconformancesin another aircraft for comparison. In this manner, historical data withrespect to nonconformances for particular types of aircraft may be made.Further, the nonconformances may be for different types of aircraft thatmay be assembled in the same assembly line.

If an area of interest is present, graphical indicators are displayedindicating the nonconformances in a graphical user interface on adisplay device such that the graphical indicators indicate the presenceof the area of interest (operation 3806). This display may indicate thelocation of nonconformances in a volume of the aircraft.

Additionally, positions for the aircraft are displayed. These positionsmay be, for example, positions 114 for an assembly line in assemblylocation 107 in FIG. 1. The process then displays a graphical indicatorindicating the position in which the area of interest is present(operation 3808) with the process terminating thereafter.

With reference again to operation 3804, if an area of interest is notpresent, the process may display the nonconformances in the volume forthe aircraft (operation 3810). This value may be a portion or all of theaircraft depending on the particular implementation. The processterminates thereafter.

The operations described in the flowchart in FIG. 37 and FIG. 38 may beapplied to nonconformances that may occur during maintenance in additionto or in place of the manufacturing of an aircraft. In this manner,improvements in the maintenance of aircraft may be made using anillustrative embodiment. For example, the processing of nonconformancesmay be during maintenance operations such as routine maintenance,inspections, upgrades, refurbishment, and other operations that occurredduring maintenance of an aircraft.

The description of the different illustrative embodiments has beenpresented for purposes of illustration and description, and is notintended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments in the formdisclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to thoseof ordinary skill in the art. Further, different illustrativeembodiments may provide different features as compared to otherillustrative embodiments. The embodiment or embodiments selected arechosen and described in order to best explain the principles of theembodiments, the practical application, and to enable others of ordinaryskill in the art to understand the disclosure for various embodimentswith various modifications as are suited to the particular usecontemplated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for processing nonconformances, themethod comprising: identifying a volume in an aircraft; identifying thenonconformances within the volume of the aircraft; and displayinggraphical indicators indicating the nonconformances within the volume ina graphical user interface on a display device.
 2. The method of claim 1further comprising: displaying the graphical indicators to indicate apresence of a cluster of the nonconformances within the volume.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the step of identifying the volume in theaircraft comprises: displaying sections of the aircraft in the graphicaluser interface on the display device, wherein the sections correspond tosections as manufactured for assembly of the aircraft and wherein thesections are selectable; detecting a selection of a section from thesections displayed in the graphical user interface; identifying thevolume in a model of the aircraft corresponding to the section selectedfrom the sections displayed in the graphical user interface; anddisplaying the volume in the model identified for the section selectedin the graphical user interface.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein thevolume is selected from one of all of the aircraft and a section of theaircraft as manufactured for assembly of the aircraft.
 5. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising: identifying parts in the volume; anddisplaying the parts in the graphical user interface with thenonconformances.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the parts are all ofthe parts in volume.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein identifying theparts in the volume comprises: identifying a state of assembly of theaircraft; and identifying the parts as ones present in the aircraft forthe state of assembly of the aircraft.
 8. The method of claim 7, whereinthe state of assembly is a current state of assembly.
 9. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the volume is a first volume and the aircraft is afirst aircraft and further comprising: identifying a number of volumesfor a number of aircraft in addition to the first volume for the firstaircraft.
 10. The method of claim 1 further comprising: managingassembly of the aircraft based on the nonconformances displayed withinthe volume of the aircraft displayed in the graphical user interface.11. The method of claim 1, wherein a graphical indicator in thegraphical indicators is selected from at least one of a color, crosshatching, an icon, highlighting, animation, or a font.
 12. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising: determining whether an area of interest ispresent for the aircraft from density information for thenonconformances.
 13. The method of claim 12 further comprising:displaying the graphical indicators indicating the nonconformanceswithin the volume in the graphical user interface on the display devicesuch that the graphical indicators indicate a presence of the area ofinterest.
 14. The method of claim 12 further comprising: displayingpositions for the aircraft; and displaying a graphical indicatorindicating the position of the aircraft where the area of interest ispresent.
 15. The method of claim 12, wherein determining whether thearea of interest is present for the aircraft from the densityinformation for the nonconformances comprises: identifyingnonconformance records for other aircraft; comparing the nonconformancesin the aircraft with other nonconformances in other aircraft to form acomparison; and determining whether the area of interest is present fromthe comparison.
 16. A method for processing nonconformances, the methodcomprising: identifying a volume in an object; identifying thenonconformances within the volume of the object; and displayinggraphical indicators indicating the nonconformances within the volume ina graphical user interface on a display device.
 17. The method of claim16 further comprising: displaying the graphical indicators to indicate apresence of a cluster of the nonconformances within the volume.
 18. Anapparatus comprising: an object manager configured to identify a volumein an aircraft; identify nonconformances within the volume of theaircraft; and display graphical indicators indicating thenonconformances within the volume in a graphical user interface on adisplay device.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the objectmanager is further configured to display the graphical indicators toindicate a presence of a cluster of the nonconformances within thevolume.
 20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein in being configured toidentify the volume in the aircraft, the object manager is configured todisplay sections of the aircraft in the graphical user interface on thedisplay device, wherein the sections correspond to sections asmanufactured for assembly of the aircraft and wherein the sections areselectable; detect a selection of a section from the sections displayedin the graphical user interface; identify the volume in a model of theaircraft corresponding to the section selected from the sectionsdisplayed in the graphical user interface; and display the volume in themodel identified for the section selected in the graphical userinterface.